Written questions by Shannon.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits extending the eligibility for the winter fuel payment to pensioners in receipt of Attendance Allowance who suffer with medical conditions.

Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged 80 and over.Entitlement to Attendance Allowance is based on the on-going need for frequent personal care and attention, or supervision to ensure personal safety, rather than on the individual’s medical condition. It is paid out of general taxation and is a tax-free, non-contributory, and non-means-tested benefit so is not affected by other income or savings. Pensioners in receipt of Attendance Allowance and on a low-income may qualify for Pension Credit if all other eligibility criteria are met. Moreover, pensioners on low incomes and in receipt of Attendance Allowance can qualify for an additional amount in Pension Credit, providing they meet the other eligibility criteria.

What discussions he has had with the Health Minister in Northern Ireland on delays in occupational therapy referrals.

Whilst my Rt. Hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has met with his counterpart in Northern Ireland to discuss various issues related to health, occupational therapy was not discussed. Health is a devolved matter for Northern Ireland.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to support the life sciences sector to develop drugs to eliminate TB.

The Government is committed to renewing UK leadership in Life Sciences, working in partnership with industry to drive innovation and treatments in key disease areas which help patients.The Medical Research Council have funded a project at University College London to develop new antibiotics for the treatment of TB. Our Joint Global Health Trials Scheme is also collaborating between MRC, FCDO, the National Institute for Health Research, and the Welcome Trust on a project specifically looking to improve outcomes for children with TB. We will continue to work with and support the sector in developing treatments for diseases such as TB.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote the World Health Organisation's BPaLM/BPaL regimen to treat multidrug resistant TB.

The UK's funding to the TB Alliance (around £70 million over 6 years) contributed to the development of the BPaLM/BPAL regimen. Our £1 billion contribution to the Global Fund is supporting countries to use BPaLM/BPAL for the treatment of multi-drug resistant TB and our funding to the Clinton Health Access Initiative has provided technical support to help countries introduce the regimen at optimal prices. In addition, our support to MedAccess helped secure a 34 per cent reduction in the price of one of the critical drugs - pretomanid - used in the regimen.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Communities in Northern Ireland on tackling homelessness.

MHCLG Ministers and officials engage regularly with their counterparts in the devolved administrations to discuss a range of issues, including tackling homelessness.

What assessment he has made of the potential for abuse of voluntary insolvencies.

In recent years the Government has commissioned research covering both corporate and personal voluntary insolvency processes. In 2022 the company voluntary arrangement research report was published and on 17 October 2024 the research findings into Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) was published. Further research into corporate voluntary insolvency processes will be published later this year. The Government will be considering the findings of this research, and along with other evidence, may bring forward proposals for reform in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) the Global Fund and (b) other multilateral organisations to eliminate TB.

The UK is a leading donor in the fight against tuberculosis (TB). Our £1 billion commitment to the Global Fund (2023 to 2025) will provide TB treatment and care for 1.1 million people, screen 20 million people for TB and provide 41,800 people with treatment for multidrug-resistant TB. This is complemented by our investment in Unitaid to improve access to key TB products and support to WHO and others to strengthen health systems.

What steps he is taking to ensure that men at risk of prostate cancer are able to access prostate specific antigen tests.

Currently men who have symptoms that could be associated with prostate cancer may be offered a test called the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test, which looks at levels of PSA in the blood in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence cancer recognition and referral guidance. However, due to the poor ability of PSA to predict cancer, the PSA test is not recommended as a screening tool for healthy men with no symptoms. This includes those at higher risk of prostate cancer.This is because the high level of inaccuracy could lead to unnecessary tests that carry risks of life-changing harm, such as urinary and faecal incontinence, sexual dysfunction, as well as a smaller but serious risk of sepsis. Additionally, some prostate cancers may not produce elevated PSA levels, leading to false-negative results that provide deceptive reassurance.Instead, men should be encouraged to know the symptoms of prostate cancer and look out for changes in their body and seek advice from a general practitioner if these changes occur.

What recent discussions she has had with the Justice Minister in Northern Ireland on backlogs in court cases.

The Lord Chancellor has not yet had the opportunity to discuss the courts and tribunals across England and Wales, including the backlogs that some jurisdictions face, with the Northern Ireland Justice Minister. Ministry of Justice ministers are hopeful that they will have the opportunity to discuss courts throughput with the Justice Minister soon, either bilaterally or through the Inter-Ministerial Group for Justice.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland on changes in the level of rural crime in Northern Ireland.

There is regular engagement with the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland on a range of issues and we will explore opportunities to discuss this shared challenge and options for future collaboration.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to support the life sciences sector to develop new drugs to tackle malaria.

UK Research and Innovation’s Medical Research Council (MRC) supports the development of anti-malaria drugs through its Research Boards, Translation portfolio, and participation in the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership.The MRC contribution for active projects totals £10.93m, including £3.84m for academic-led translational projects. For instance, the University of Liverpool, in collaboration with the Medicines for Malaria Venture, has been awarded £1.12m to lead on a multinational, interdisciplinary programme to develop a drug capable of curing malaria in a single or three daily doses treatment regime.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) the Global Fund, (b) Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and (c) other multilateral organisations to eliminate malaria.

The UK is a leading donor to the fight against Malaria. Our £1 billion contribution (2023-2025) to the Global Fund will distribute 86 million treated mosquito nets, provide 452,000 doses of seasonal malaria chemoprevention and treat for 18 million cases. I recently met the Gavi CEO, Sania Nishtar, and discussed our £1.65 billion investment (2021-2025) and Gavi's rollout of malaria vaccines, which will support the immunisation of more than 6 million children by the end of 2025. This is complemented by investments in UNITAID, WHO and others to strengthen health systems and improve access to malaria products.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the rollout of new medicines developed in the UK to tackle malaria.

British science was key to the development of the first two vaccines ever to be recommended for use by WHO to prevent malaria. The UK's £1.65 billion funding to Gavi is also helping to fund the rollout of malaria vaccines and will immunise more than 6 million children by the end of 2025. Our funding to the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), in partnership with more than 40 UK organisations including GSK and the University of Dundee, is developing a new generation of antimalarial medicines to address the emerging threat posed by drug resistance.

Whether she has had discussions with the Department of Communities in Northern Ireland on support for families in relative poverty.

Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish the child poverty strategy in the Spring. Officials have already held discussions with the Department of Communities. The Taskforce Co-Chairs have written to First Ministers to set out their aspirations for partnership working across our four nations and there will be regular engagement as the Strategy takes shape. In developing the UK-wide Child Poverty Strategy, we will draw on both reserved and devolved policy levers and work closely with Devolved Governments, recognising the progress that has been made on their poverty strategies and policies.

Whether she has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Department of Infrastructure on (a) pothole repairs and (b) resurfacing.

The Secretary of State met her counterpart in the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure in her first days of office and the departments regularly discuss matters of mutual interest.

What discussions he has had with his Northern Ireland counterpart on strengthening the grid in the North West and Mid Tyrone under the Transmission Development Plan 2023-2032.

Energy policy is a transferred matter to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive. DESNZ holds regular discussions with NI Executive on broader energy matters, including through our Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change Inter-ministerial Group, which last met on 17th October.

What steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to encourage young people not in education, employment or training into (a) further education and (b) employment.

Under our plan to get Britain Working, we are working closely with the Department for Education to develop the new Youth Guarantee that will ensure that all young people aged 18-21 in England can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. This will sit alongside; a new national jobs and careers service to help get more people into work, work health and skills plans for the economically inactive, and the launch of Skills England to open new opportunities for young people. We will set out further detail in the upcoming ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper. Currently through the Youth Offer, we provide labour market support to young people aged 16-24 claiming Universal Credit through a range of tailored interventions to help reduce the barriers young people may face, bringing them closer to employment or appropriate training opportunities.

Whether she has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure on school bus services fin rural areas.

School bus services in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. My department regularly engages with colleagues in the Department for Infrastructure to discuss matters of mutual interest. Policy responsibility for home to school transport within England is the responsibility of the Department for Education.

If he will hold discussions with regulators on potential changes in the level of energy prices.

The Energy Price Cap is set by Ofgem and there are different costs included in the price cap, such as the wholesale cost of energy. Any changes to these costs will affect how much the price cap will be each time it is reviewed. As such, the Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy and reduce our reliance on volatile international fossil fuel markets.

What steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure adequate mental health provision in schools for young people with eating disorders.

The Department is working across the Government to consider how to deliver our commitment of a specialist mental health professional in every school. Alongside this we are working toward rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community and working with colleagues at the Department for Education and NHS England to consider options to deliver our commitment to recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across both adult, and children and young people’s mental health services.It will be important that these commitments can provide appropriate support for children and young people with a range of mental health needs, including eating disorders.